NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 8/28/17

A Broadway, TV, and/or film star performs a classic theatre scene as scripted—except the other half of the scene has to be carried by an improvisor who’s never experienced the play and must spontaneously react to whatever happens. Attracting some of the finest improvisors and actors in NYC (e.g., in a memorable moment above Scott Adsit surprised everyone, including himself, by abruptly kissing Julie Sharbutt), this is one of the best improv shows in the country. It always quickly sells out of seats in advance, but you can probably get in tonight if you arrive early and are okay with standing for actor/director Stephen Ruddy‘s Gravid Water (8:00 pm, $7, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)…

…or if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, come to this free show in which comics Erin Lynn O’Connor, Sam Haft, Leigh Ellen Mitchell, Mike Mercadal, Patrick J. Reilly, and David Picclomini discuss the final episode of this spectacular season of GoT hosted by Nicki Wright: Panel of Thrones (7:30 pm, Free!, Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)…

8:00 pm ($7): A two-man comedic play about star Redd Foxx, who had a legendary stand-up career and hit TV series; “yet toward the end of his infamous life the IRS took everything he had…so he decided to give a fuck” written by Laurence Maslon, and starring Kareem M. Lucas as Redd Foxx and Adam McNulty as an IRS agent at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redd, Black, and Blue

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—push boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Andy Sandford: Permission to Fail

[MEGA-TOP PICK][FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren’t announced in advance, but it’s usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by someone who’s probably terrific (while usual world-class host Aparna Nancherla tours in LA): Whiplash

…or join Blair Socci (MTV, Fuse), who “wrote a letter to Owen Wilson in 2007 after his suicide attempt telling him how much she loved him and appreciated him and that she hoped he would feel better soon. (A breakup with Jennifer Aniston could truly shatter anyone…)” Tonight Blair interviews comics Dan Soder, Will Miles, Janelle James, Christi Chiello, Lo Bosworth, and Mehran Khaghani, who each first share a 1-2 minute letter to a celebrity who has had an impact on his or her life: Dear Owen Wilson (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)…

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups—all typically led by the best improv pianist in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt

9:00 pm ($7): A one-man show by Alejandro Kolleeny in which “Professor Insano is a fearsome supervillain and evil Professor of English lit and Soc 102 at Baruch College. He has called a meeting of the Council Of Evil to discuss his latest plans to infiltrate reality,” with an opening stand-up set by Griffin Newman (Arthur on Amazon’s The Tick, HBO, MTV) at The PIT Underground: Professor Insano Destroys Reality

[FREE] 10:30 pm (Free! using online code COMP; no min.): Stand-ups pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness by veteran comics such as Big Jay Oakerson and Rich Vos at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters

…and Ilana Glazer (co-star of Comedy Central red-hot hit Broad City) delivered superb stand-up shows for the past two weeks, in which she did a great long set and also had two sharp comedy friends do great long sets; and since those went so well, Ilana’s doing it one more time tonight, with both an early and late show: Ilana Glazer and Friends (7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street;—take R subway to Union Street; PLEASE NOTE: Both performances have SOLD OUT. However, you might be able to nab tickets via the Fan Exchange)

Other notable shows this Wednesday include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including dynamite comics Adrian Sexton and Jay Malsky in The Community Players at 7:00 pm, musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:30 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:30 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($7): A dozen comics create an on-stage episode of Game of Thrones in which “women rise up and take back Westeros; it’s All Men Must Die (with jokes)” at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Dames of Thrones

…or go cross-town to UCB Chelsea for NYC’s premium improv competition. Last week indie group Miles From Pete (above; Josh Tobin, Waylen Roche, Scott Vicari, and rising star Desi Domo) proved their first underdog victory against What I Did For Love was no fluke by once again crushing a UCB house team—this time Lloyd Night’s Zaddy, by 92 votes to 50. Zaddy actually performed a cliever and impressive improv set revolving around zoo animals, and on most other nights would’ve been hard to beat. But MFP rose to the challenge, creating a 25-minute monoscene set on a boat that started out with mild disquiet, and then progressively built into a fantasy-horror tale involving aggressively sensual mermaids and ritual human sacrifice. Tonight MFP aims for a third notch on its crown against indie improv duo 2 Puerto Ricans (Taylor Gonzalez & Will Martinez) competing for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)

9:30 pm ($10): A raunchy musical about high school seniors and aliens from outer space plotting to harvest our genitals begins a 10-show run tonight through September 18th at The PIT Mainstage from writer Joe Kelly, musical director Jonathan Evans, and director Griffin Osborne: Aliens Coming: The Musical

In addition, at the East Village’s UCB East you can typically find a stand-up open mic Thursdays at 6:00 pm, an improv jam Wednesdays at 11:15 pm, and a rare bring-your-own-group improv/sketch open stage Sundays at 11:00 pm. And in Chelsea, The Magnet offers an improv jam on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, and a rare musical improv jam on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm.

All of the venues above typically provide you the stage time either for free or for $5.

There are also numerous other open mics throughout the city. For a more comprehensive list, please visit FreeMicsNYC.

For many more shows, please click the following links to top NYC comedy venues:

The PIT Loft154 West 29th Street; 50-seater; the third of The PIT theatres, located separately on the West side, hosts a wide range of comedy, but is especially effective as a home for intimate solo and/or theatrical shows; free-$20

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com…It must be exhausting keeping that monster of a website alive. It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, submit material to my short story anthology Ghosts on Drugs, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.